Measures to improve the environment and the countryside by supporting land management

1. Measures to improve the environment and the countryside by supporting land management Ministry of Rural Development Department of Agricultural Development Szalai András 2011. June 27.

2. The general objectiveof Axis II of the NHRDP to improve the environment and the countryside by supporting land management

3. Measures targeting the sustainable management of agricultural areas Areas with handicaps Natura 2000 payments Agri-environmental payments Preservation of native and endangered farm animals’ genetic resources through breeding Preservation of plant genetic resources Assistance provided non-productive investments +1 Animal welfare payments

4. Measures targeting the sustainable management of forest areas First afforestation of agricultural land First establishment of agro-forestry systems on agricultural land The first afforestation of non-agricultural land Forest-environment payments Restoring forestry potential and introduction of preventive actions Non-productive investments on forest areas

5. Legal background of Axis II measures EU regulations: Council Regulation No 1698/2005; Commission Regulations 1974/2006 and 1975/2006 Document adopted by the Commission: New Hungary Rural Development Programme 2007-2013 (for the whole country area) National regulation: Ministerial level regulations of the measures

6. Payments to farmers in areas with handicaps, other than mountain areas (Less Favoured Areas) Scope and action: To provide compensation payments for farming on less favoured grassland and fodder areas. No payment can be made, if the following crops are grown: autumn or spring wheat, rice, sunflower, corn, sugar beet, potato, industrial purpose crops and vegetables. From 2009 onwards, farmers have to comply the rules of the cross-compliance, as provided by Annex III. of 1782/2003 EC Regulation, and they have to continue of farming activities on LFA areas for 5 years after the first transfer of the compensatory payments. Geographic areas: In areas specified in Articles 19 or 20 of Regulation No. 1257/1999/EC, and marked in the Hungarian Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS-Hu) (Article 19.: areas with poor productivity, difficult land use; lower-than-average production; low density of the population with high share of agricultural workers; Article 20.: areas were selected on the basis of 2 out of a total of 4 specific handicaps (agronomic limiting factors). Beneficiaries: each registered agricultural producer

7. Natura 2000 payments on agricultural areas Scope of action Compensation for farming at Natura 2000 grasslands for the compliance with the Council Directive 79/409/EEC of April 2, 1979, on the conservation of wild birds and and the Directive 92/43/EEC of May 21, 1992, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora Farmers shall compliance with the provisions for land use determined in the Regulation 269/2007 of the Hungarian Government Geographic area: Natura 2000 grasslands indicated in LPIS determined according to the Regulation 275/2004 of the Hungarian Government Scope of the beneficiaries: agricultural producers, land users

8. The first afforestation of agricultural land Content of the measure Afforestation on less suitable for agricultural cultivation areas Support: - establishment (first year, basic and supplementary support) - maintenance (first five years) support for loss of income (farmers – higher amount support for loss of income) period of support for loss of income depending on the standing types (max. 15 years) Geographic Area: Total area of Hungary Scope of the beneficiaries:agricultural producer, and each user of the agricultural areas Period of covenant: 1-5-10-15 years depending on the standing types

9. Forest-environment payments Content of the measure: Compensation payments for forest managers taking on voluntary forest-environmental commitments exceeding the minimum requirements in 9 schemes Schemes: 1. Repression of aggressively expanding non-indigenous tree and shrub species 2. Selection forest management; 3. Conversion of forest stands and maintenance based on manual work; 4. Reduction of clear-cutting with artificial regeneration; 5. Ensuring special forest habitats, and the conditions for natural forest regeneration (Creation and maintenance of micro-habitats, Leaving groups of trees after final felling, Bush regulation to ensure the success of forest regeneration); 6. Postponement of final felling in order to protect soil and habitat; 7. Maintenance of forests for public welfare purposes; 8. Creation and maintenance of forest clearings; 9. Application of environmentally friendly materials handling methods Geographic Area: Total area of Hungary

10. Agri-environmental measurehorizontal and zonal schemes based on area Main objective: promotion and support of environmentally friendly farming practices Precedent: agri-environmental measure of the National Rural Development Plan (NRDP) Great number of supported farmers (cc 25.000), significant area affected (1,5 million ha) Scope of beneficiaries: agricultural producers, land users Form of support: 5 year term; normative, area-based payment, non-refundable Intensity of support: Total public expenditure: 1.137 million € EAFRD contribution: 874 million €

11. Support value: depends on type of scheme (11-220€/ha in case of arable land, 60-120€/ha for grassland, 330-900€/ha for plantation and 60-160€/ha for wetland) Eligible activities: Fulfilment of the schemes’ prescriptions Commitments must exceed the minimum requirements specified in CR 1782/2003/EC Area-based payments (horizontal and zonal) Selection criteria of beneficiaries: Environmental sensitivity of the area (Natura 2000, nitrate sensitive etc. areas) Harmony between animal husbandry and plant production Experience of the applicant in environmentally friendly production

12. Support period: Between 1st of September 2009 and 31st of August 2014./2019. Submission period of support claim: Between 1st of June and 25th of July, 2009. Submission period of area identification claim: Until 15th of May (max. 9th of June), 2010, before the submission of the payment claim Submission period of payment claim: With the single electronicalclaim, between 1st of April and 15th of May in every year

15. Agri-environmental indicators Beside CMEF indicators, the following specific (so called „own”) indicators are proposed: supported person related data (agricultural producer or other land user) supported area related data (ha) / Natura2000, LFA, nitrate sensitive area / land utilization related data (ha) /grassland-meadow, pasture, arable land-vegetable, plantation/ Effect indicator monitoring system: on the basis of collected dataof this monitoring system, a special evaluation can be performed focused on the results, impacts and relevance of the intervention. The system has 3+1 main parts: 1.) nature conservation/biodiversity (bird/target species – insects – botany/coenology) 2.) environment protection (soil – water – land use) 3.) economy (profitability/expenses – social/employment aspects) +1) informatics (storage – query of data) Effect indicator monitoring will be held on the 10% of the whole supported area.

18. Thank you for your attention!